Review: The Babysitters Coven | Kate Williams

This review is spoiler free.

“Dear Cassandra, 
Find the babysitters. 
Love, Mom”

Series: The Babysitters Coven
Published: 2019, by Delacorte Press.
Pages: 355
Format: Paperback
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Witches, Fiction
Contains: Violence, Strong Language, Anger, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Psychiatric Hospitals, Blood/Gore

‘The Babysitters Coven’ follows seventeen-year-old Esme Pearl, the chairman of a babysitters club she shares with her best friend. When new girl, Cassandra Heaven, wants to join, she’s a little suspicious but allows her to join anyway. Cassandra, however, has ulterior motives.

I first fell in love with his novel from it’s absolutely stunning cover, adoring its design and colours so much that I just knew I had to own it. Plus, who doesn’t love a good witchy Young Adult story? Needless to say, my expectations were met.

Esme Pearl makes for a brilliant protagonist. She’s witty, courageous and unashamed of herself, making for a delightfully entertaining read. When faced with a challenge, Esme continued to fight it head on, regardless of the consequences. Although, a little more timid than Cassandra, Esme was the more level-headed of the pair and continued to inspire across the pages.
Cassandra made for yet another entertaining character. Although, a little brash, she continued to bring out more of Esme’s personality and it was a complete joy to read about her. She thrived as a Sitter, loving her position and showed the fun side of the magic of this universe.
The other characters in the novel were as equally as entertaining, there not being a single unlikable character. Their narratives were easy to follow and remember, not overloading us with names and places whilst managing to keep us gripped from page to page.

The magic in this world is entirely refreshing, each Sitter having their own ability with the bonus of being able to perform spells. The way those spells are composed is an entirely new form to me, introducing me to a concept which made a brilliant read even more interesting. It’s a combination of The Babysitter’s Club, The Craft and Buffy the Vampire Slayer all merged into one, what more could you want?
The writing style is simple, making for an easy read, yet the lengths of description could have been shortened on occasion. However, it didn’t pull me away from the story, Esme’s narrative doing wonders of drawing me in. Although, the pace wasn’t the fastest, it still developed at a steadily and made for a fun, evening read.

Overall, I deeply enjoyed this book. The characters were delightful, the writing style entertaining and the concept was gripping from cover to cover. I’m looking forward to the next instalment of Esme’s journey.

5/5